Books Are A Designer's Best Friends

What can I say? I love books - they are my best friends. Rarely a day will go by for me without reading. Books are everywhere in my home and I feel good when I am surrounded by volumes and volumes of books.

Books on decoration are starting to fill more shelves in my office. Some of them were bought many years ago when I was just starting with Interior Design. Some are new finds, but no less loved than the good old ones. I am not going to talk about each and every book on interior design, decor, color, etc. that I have. I would like to share a few of my favorite books with you. So, without any further ado, we will start with:

1. Laurie Ward "Use What You Have Decorating"

This book was the one that I started learning ins and outs of interior design with and the one that gave simple answers to all of my questions: Why is a good furniture layout so important? How do you know where to place what? How and where do you put art on the walls? How do you accessorize?, etc.

It was the first book that introduced me to the concepts of balance, conversation area and focal point. It laid a great foundation with simple drawings, black and white photos and precise explanations. For me it was a wonderful starting point. A great book to start learning about interior design.

2. Paige Rense "Decorating for Celebrities. Interviews with Twenty of the World's Best Interior Designers."

Paige Rense was an Editor-in-Chief of Architectural Digest for 35 (!) years who transformed a trade journal into a "Bible for design world". The book itself was published in 1980 and is a set of interviews that Paige had with the top 20 interior designers of the time. The most fascinating read, I should say! These are not your ordinary interviews. The questions are formulated to be answered extensively, not in a line or two.

These interviews (I'd rather use a word "conversations") are not strictly centered around interior design. They give us a glimpse of the designers' life and personalities as well. And the clients are not forgotten either. The book is written in such a lively way that I often had a feeling I was taking part in the conversation.

Here are just a few names of the designers included in this book: Mario Buatta, Angelo Donghia, Ted Graber, Albert Hadley, Mrs.Henry Parish II, Michael Taylor.

3. Billy Baldwin. "Billy Baldwin Decorates".

This one is so much more than a "how to decorate" book! How can you describe music or poetry? You mostly feel it. Billy Baldwin "sings a song" of an interior design, so to speak. He is able to put feelings and subtle observations into words. Just a few names of the chapters in his book: - The magic of materials and texture - The pleasure of beautiful carpets and rugs - Nothing makes a room sparkle like mirror - The best decoration in the world is a roomful of books...

Interior design can be magical if you are willing to notice and appreciate the magic of graceful windows, beautiful curves of a chair, simple flowers in a vase, a shadow on the wooden floor...

And I just can't help but share one of my favorite quotes in the book: "When you wake up in the morning, the first thing you see should be the most beautiful thing in the room - a window facing the sea or a garden. Or a serene painting. It will put you in a good frame of mind, so that when your husband awakens, the most beautiful thing in the room will be you."

To be continued….